If you have a smartphone, you probably use it to browse the internet and check your savings and checking accounts. It stores Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, even email accounts, and the phone numbers of all your friends and family. But what would happen if a thief gets his hands on all that data?

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If you have taken the right steps to protect yourself, losing your phone will be just an annoyance. But if you’ve failed to safeguard your phone you are setting yourself up for trouble. To help you prepare here are some of the dumbest things people do with their smartphones and what we should do instead.

First is having no password protection. If you could lock your wallet, wouldn’t you? If you take the extra step, most thieves will simply move on to an easier target.

Next is shopping online with an internet browser instead of a shopping app. If you have the choice, use the app! Unlike browsers dedicated shopping apps are designed to ward off scams. But before you download, make sure it is the official app.

Another common mistake people make is remaining logged into banking, PayPal and other sensitive apps. When you finish banking or shopping, make sure you log out. And never click the box asking the app to save your user ID or password.

Copyright 2014 by Ivanhoe Broadcast News and News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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